The Untamed: When Life Hung in the Balance
by YenGirl
Summary: Seeing one's life flashing before one's eyes was something Lan Zhan had experienced at Nevernight City sixteen years ago when Wei Ying fell off the cliff. After all, Wei Ying WAS his life. He never imagined he would feel it again at Yi City. But this time, he wasn't alone.


**Author Notes:** Hello again, everyone! The Yi City arc is one of my favourites, not because of the heartbreaking tragedy that happened a few years back, but because the story has returned to the present where Wei Ying is back and Lan Zhan is loyal and ever present at his side. And because of the adorable ducklings (younger disciples) of course! Enjoy :)

**Summary:** Seeing one's life flashing before one's eyes was something Lan Zhan had experienced at Nevernight City sixteen years ago when Wei Ying fell off the cliff. After all, Wei Ying _was_ his life. He never imagined he would feel it again at Yi City. But this time, he wasn't alone.

**Warnings:** Spoilers for The Untamed TV series & Yi City arc.

**Rating:** T

**Disclaimer:** The Untamed series is based on the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation novel which belongs to Mo Xiang Tong Xiu.

\- Story Start -

The perennial smoke in the air made it difficult to see anything. Lan Zhan had to divide his attention between battling Xue Yang, Wen Ning's battle with ghost puppet Song Lan, and the whereabouts of Wei Ying and the younger disciples. Most of the time, he only saw blurry figures and had to rely on the sounds and shouts to tell him what was going on.

A gust of wind cleared the air for a moment and he saw Song Lan grab Wen Ning by the throat and fling him with terrifying strength into one of the houses, reducing the building to mere kindling. Then Song Lan straightened up and turned, blank eyes focusing on Wei Ying who stood in front of the other disciples, arms out flung as if to protect them. With each step that Song Lan took, Wei Ying took one to the side, away from the others, keeping Song Lan's attention focused solely on him.

The whistling of Jiangzai, Xue Yang's sword, reached Lan Zhan's ears just in time. He flung himself backwards to avoid the long blade, Bichen whipping up to bat it away.

"Not the time to get distracted, HanGuang Jun," Xue Yang taunted and pressed his attack hard.

It was several moments before Lan Zhan got another peek in Wei Ying's direction. He was just in time to see Song Lan land a fist on Wei Ying's chest, one that would have punched a hole right through him had he not jumped back half a second earlier. It was still powerful enough to smash him to the ground, head bouncing upon impact, bamboo flute spinning away.

Lan Zhan's heart almost stopped.

"Wei Ying!"

But the crumpled figure on the ground didn't move. Song Lan took a step closer.

Another whistling of Jiangzai brought Lan Zhan's attention back to his opponent, making him lunge to the side on instinct.

"Eyes on me, HanGuang Jun!" Xue Yang's laugh was delighted. Triumphant. Exultant. "Or you will die even before your boyfriend does!"

There was no time to rush to Wei Ying's side, Lan Zhan knew that. He tried anyway, turning his unprotected back on a dangerous enemy, even flinging Bichen at Song Lan to buy himself a precious few seconds before pushing his body into a desperate sprint.

It was like that cliff side at Nevernight City all over again, seeing Wei Ying take a step too far. Lan Zhan had manged to catch him by the wrist, but he hadn't managed to save him. This time, he vowed, this time he _would_ _succeed_.

Song Lan leaned back to avoid Bichen, and the sword arched back towards Lan Zhan. That movement used up two precious seconds, but when Song Lan dropped to one knee and drew back a deadly fist once more, Wei Ying was still unconscious and Lan Zhan was still too far away.

"Wei Ying!" Lan Zhan shouted.

In his tunnel vision, he saw a flash of white appearing between Song Lan and Wei Ying. He heard someone shouting SiZhui's name and would later realise it was JingYi's panicked voice.

A second flash of white appeared, right beside the first. Two swords flashed outward and up, slender blades crossing with a clang, hilts gripped tight in two hands apiece with not a nick of time to spare.

Song Lan's fist smashed into them. An ugly sound rang through the air as shards of sword metal flew, their owners flung backwards onto the ground on either side of Wei Ying's prone figure.

Song Lan paused as if surprised at the other two's sudden presence.

"Kill them!" Xue Yang screamed from behind Lan Zhan.

Song Lan raised his fist again, but his hesitation and the unexpected interruption had granted Lan Zhan the precious seconds he needed. He threw Bichen again, a slight twist of his wrist sending the slender blade spinning as it flew. It entered Song Lan's chest and out through his back, flying in a wide, graceful arc to pierce Xue Yang from behind, cutting him off mid cackle.

Released from Xue Yang's control, Song Lan toppled onto the ground and lay still. Lan Zhan fell to his knees in front of the fallen trio.

"Wei Ying!"

SiZhui and JingYi stirred, but Lan Zhan only had eyes for the one lying motionless between them.

"Wei Ying!"

For a horrible, horrible moment, nothing happened except for Lan Zhan's heartbeat drumming in his ears. Then Wei Ying groaned, eyelids fluttering.

"Ow..."

"Wei Ying." Lan Zhan's voice shook as knee weakening relief flooded through him.

Wei Ying squinted up at him, one hand clutching his head.

"Lan Zhan? I... I'm fine. Ow."

The pain filled voice said otherwise, but Wei Ying was alive. Lan Zhan reached out to pull him up as SiZhui and JingYi sat up.

"SiZhui, JingYi, you two alright?" Wei Ying asked, resting his hands on their shoulders. "Such reckless boys!"

"Our apologies, Mo Qianbei. We had to!" SiZhui as always, was quick with an apology and a contrite smile.

"Hey, SiZhui was reckless first!" JingYi was determined to set things straight.

"You. Two."

The two disciples gulped and turned pale. As one, they turned back to Lan Zhan.

"HanGuang Jun!"

"What did I say about not taking unnecessary risks?"

SiZhui and JingYi exchanged nervous looks.

"HanGuang Jun, Mo Qianbei's life was in danger," SiZhui said.

"Yes, it was! This was a necessary risk!" JingYi was equally determined not to let his best friend take all the blame.

Reaching out, Lan Zhan grabbed their outer shoulders in an iron grip. Pinned in place by his and Wei Ying's hands, SiZhui and JingYi couldn't do anything but exchange near panicked looks.

"A necessary risk indeed," Lan Zhan agreed and yanked them into a sudden hug. He wrapped his arms around them so he could close his hands over Wei Ying's who was still clutching their other shoulders. Ignoring the muffled squeaks at his chest, Lan Zhan stared at Wei Ying, eyes still haunted at the latter's close call.

"Lan Zhan, I'm fine." Wei Ying's voice was soft.

"I thought I was too late for the second time." Lan Zhan's voice was still not quite steady.

"You weren't too late then. If not for Jiang Cheng... and you weren't too late now."

"I was. Fortunately..." Lan Zhan moved his head a bit to indicate the two disciples still squashed against his chest. Wei Ying's smile softened as he tugged his hands from Lan Zhan's and placed them on top of SiZhui and JingYi's heads.

"Fortunately," he echoed and his smile went a long way to soothing the still frantic beat of Lan Zhan's heart.

With a nod, Lan Zhan released SiZhui and JingYi, allowing both boys to straighten up and gulp in air, their faces red.

"We will reforge your swords when we return to Cloud Recesses," Lan Zhan told them. "For now... thank you."

They gaped at him.

"No need for thanks, HanGuang Jun!"

"Yes, no need at all!"

Without waiting for a reply, SiZhui and JingYi scrambled to their feet and backed away to where the other disciples stood. Jin Ling's eyes were the widest while Zizhen had both hands clasped under his chin and was sniffling.

Ignoring their little audience, Lan Zhan reached for Wei Ying's hands again and stood up, pulling the other to his feet. He had to wrap an arm around Wei Ying's waist when the latter stumbled, one hand clutching at his head, the other at his chest.

Despite Wei Ying's injuries, Lan Zhan couldn't help breathing a prayer of thankfulness.

SiZhui and JingYi had heard his brief conversation with Wei Ying, but he couldn't bring himself to care about that. After all, SiZhui was family and JingYi was his best friend. It pleased Lan Zhan very much that they already regarded Wei Ying as someone worthy of risking their lives for.

Turning around, he saw Wen Ning standing beside the disciples, all of them sporting identical looks of concern on their faces, even Jin Ling.

This time around, things were different. Lan Zhan wasn't the only one who cared for Wei Ying, and he wasn't the only one who would look out for him and keep him safe.

\- Story End -

**A/N:** Thank you for reading! Please leave a review if you enjoyed it :)


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